"You know this is amazing. I didn't think there could be this much summer."

I suppose one shouldn't be too surprised when those words slip out of Emanual Lundgren's mouth. After all, the fiery red head and the lovely legion of fresh faced choral contributors that join him do call temperate-challenged Sweden home. I can only imagine what they put up with during the winter months.

Well, might I say, "Welcome to Brooklyn in August Emanuel..."

For only their second US show to date, much ballyhooed Swedish band I'm From Barcelona brought 20 members plus to McCarren Park for a ruckus Sunday afternoon pool party. And while some might find it easy to argue that the massive band thing is getting a tad overdone, it is hard to deny the fact that every one of Barcelona's members chip in to help furnish their nifty cheerleading sound, not to mention contribute to the wildly dynamic performance. Just try and keep up with these kids. While they rollick through "We're From Barcelona", "Oversleeping", "Treehouse", and "The Painter", you'll get lost in a sea of balloons, confetti, bear costumes…hey wait, is that Steve Zissou?...oh, and crowd surfing. Might I suggest watching this one over and over to really appreciate it. - David Pitz

Artist Bio

Fueled by love and vacation, Emanuel Lundgren writes a couple of explosive happy pop songs and decides to gather all his friends to put them on tape. His apartment turns into a friendly factory as people come and go loaded with banjos, accordions and kazoos. Some weeks (and lifetime memories) later, a homemade EP is finished and Emanuel collects almost all the 29 participants for a first and last live show in August 2005.

What he thought was an ending was a beginning of numerous rumours and talk about this new and exciting band. One show soon turned into plenty. Swedish media goes out of control and bloggers all over the world starts sharing their knowledge about the Swedish big band. In only a couple of months more than 20 000 people have downloaded songs from the bands website.

The EP "Don´t Give Up On Your Dreams, Buddy!" is released on EMI Sweden in early 2006 and is followed up by the full length album "Let Me Intruduce My Friends". A record full of euphoric pop gems and sing-a-long friendly choruses . The anthem "We´re From Barcelona" climbs the charts and the band is headed for a summer of festivals, including Primavera Sound in Barcelona.

I´m from Barcelona embraces the do-it-yourself mentality and live it´s hard to say where the band ends and the audience begins.